Speaking of meeting, meet Alli Swinford. She's a sweet nine year old from Whitfield, Georgia. A compassionate person, she was particularly touched when she learned of St. Jude's hospital. She set out on a mission to earn $1000 for the hospitol. To jump-start her campaign, she generously gave $60 of her own money. "It was very hard to give up," she admitted.

Alli started selling Grandma-made lemonade at her brother's baseball games. "When my brother played baseball, there were no concession stands," she said about her brilliant idea. Soon, she was well on her way to earning $1000.

But what happens when baseball season is over, the cold weather comes, and selling lemonade is impossible? You raise money by recycling aluminum cans, and ask for donations. Alli is lucky in that her grandmother owns a restaurant, where a donation box was placed. With the help of many people, Alli inched towards her goal. "My parents were a big help," she said, "I didn't know how to run this!"

Finally, Alli had reached her goal of $1000. With mounting excitement, her family drove to Memphis, Tennessee to donate the money to the patients at St. Jude's hospital. However, Alli, being nine, was not allowed to personally dole out cash. She admits that she was disappointed when she wasn't allowed to meet the people whose lives she was saving, but nothing could stop this mini superstar. She gave the money to someone at the front desk, who told her she was a great helper, and started out on a new journey: earning $1500.

So far, Alli has earned around $100 and is looking forward to another forthcoming baseball season. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. "I want to be a teacher for kids in the hospital," she said, "I can go in there and teach them every day."

Alli offered some advice to other children trying to raise money. "Don't stop. Even if it gets really hard, keep on going. You just talk to the Lord if you need help."